How to Install OrangeHRM with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

This article describes the steps to install and use OrangeHRM on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

OrangeHRM system allows enterprises and business owners to manage Personnel Information Management, Employee Self Service, Leave, Time & Attendance, Benefits, and Recruitment.

When deciding on what open-source Human Resource Management platform to use to run your HR department, OrangeHRM is a good place to start.

This open-source HRM software is written in PHP and offers features that help you run your business and collaborate with your employees and vendors.

How to install and use OrangeHRM on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support

As described above, the OrangeHRM system is designed to allow enterprises and business owners to manage Personnel Information Management, Employee Self Service, Leave, Time & Attendance, Benefits, and Recruitment.

Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

Install Nginx

OrangeHRM requires a web server, and the second most popular web server in use today is Nginx.

So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

Install MariaDB

OrangeHRM also requires a database server; the MariaDB database server is a great place to start.

To install it, run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service always to start up when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

• Enter current password for root (enter for none): Press the Enter
• Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
• New password: Enter password
• Re-enter new password: Repeat password
• Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
• Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
• Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
• Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Install PHP FPM and Related Modules

PHP 7.1 isn’t available on Ubuntu’s default repositories. So to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt update

Run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.1-fpm php7.1-common php7.1-mbstring php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-soap php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-intl php7.1-mysql php7.1-cli php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-ldap php7.1-zip php7.1-curl

After installing PHP, run the commands below to open the FPM PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini

Then change to the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
display_errors = Off
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Create OrangeHRM Database

Now that you’ve installed all the required packages continue below to start configuring the servers.

First, run the commands below to create the OrangeHRM database.

Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called orangehrm

CREATE DATABASE orangehrm;

Create a database user called orangehrmuser with a new password

CREATE USER 'orangehrmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON orangehrm.* TO 'orangehrmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download OrangeHRM Latest Release

Next, visit the OrangeHRM site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into the Nginx root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://excellmedia.dl.sourceforge.net/project/orangehrm/stable/4.0/orangehrm-4.0.zip
unzip orangehrm-4.0.zip
sudo mv orangehrm-4.0 /var/www/html/orangehrm

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Concrete5 to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/orangehrm/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/orangehrm/

Configure Nginx

Finally, configure the Nginx server block configuration file for OrangeHRM. This file will control how users access OrangeHRM content.

Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called orangehrm

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/orangehrm

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/orangehrm;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

     client_max_body_size 100M;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$uri&$args;        
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.1-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable OrangeHRM server block

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/orangehrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Restart Nginx by running the commands below to load all the settings above.

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name, followed by install. Finally, you should see the Concrete5 setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com

Then follow the on-screen instructions until you’ve successfully installed OrangeHRM.

Enter the database info you created above and continue

Finish with the installation and enjoy!

After installing and you run into issues where you can’t use OrangeHRM because of constant loops, change the root directory to this:

root /var/www/html/orangehrm/symfony/web;

That should do it!